


With Eyes That Shine

by pinkevilbob



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animal Abuse, F/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Not a lot but it's there, but happy ending and the dog's okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:15:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21522793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkevilbob/pseuds/pinkevilbob
Summary: Jester's out late at night with a mysterious companion and stumbles into trouble.
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Jester Lavorre
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	With Eyes That Shine

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Jester/Cad fic, so I hope it's good. The idea popped into my head and I had to write it.

It was dark and cold, but Jester didn’t mind. She stayed out late for the dance and liked walking home in the quiet by herself. Well, not by herself exactly. A large black dog walked beside her.

Large and black didn’t do this dog justice though. Its shoulders reached Jester’s belly button ,and its fur was so black that it was more like the absence of light than anything else. Most of its fur was short except for what was on its ears which was long and wavy. The dog looked soft, but it never got close enough for Jester to pet it. Instead it matched Jester’s pace exactly three feet to the right of her.

They had walked together as companions for three nights in a row, and Jester liked to think of the dog as her friend. “If we’re to be friends though,” Jester said, “I should come up with something to call you.” She gave it some thought. “How about Black Shuck?” The dog merely wuffed. “Okay, Black Shuck it will be until we come up with something better.”

“You can call me whatever you like, girly,” a drunk voice said from the left side of the road. A giant of a man stood there swigging from a bottle in a paper bag.

“I’ll call you drunk,” Jester said stepping away from him.

The drunk took a step forward. “You can call me that for a kiss.”

Black Shuck crossed in front of Jester with a low growl. “I think you should go,” Jester said her voice shaking.

“Oh come on now, I just want a kiss, that’s all,” the drunk said. Black Shuck barked and the sound of it sent a chill down Jester’s back. “Shut up you stupid mutt!” The drunk kicked the dog hard enough that Jester heard a cracking sound when Black Shuck landed at her feet.

Jester heart stopped and without thinking she charged the drunk and kicked him in the knee. 

With a grunt, the drunk collapsed down to one knee. “You little b%(^*&!” he yelled pulling out a knife.

Jester ran back to Black Shuck. The dog laid there barely moving even to breath. “Come on, we need to get you out of here!”

“You’re not going anywhere,” the drunk hissed. 

She could feel the drunk’s breath on the back of her neck and his knife by her ribs. Panic ran through her head as she tried to figure out a way to get her and Black Shuck out of there. But then she noticed that the dog was no longer there. Instead, standing there was a man who looked like he stepped out of Jester’s old fairy tale books.

He was taller than any man she had seen before and unbelievably thin. In his hand, he carried a strange staff. Gray fuzzy fur covered him and wavy pink hair cascaded down his shoulder. His ears were almost like a horse, and his face made her think of a cow. But Jester couldn’t deny that he was handsome. 

Clearing his throat, the strange man stared at the drunk. “I’d drop that knife if I were you.”

“I don’t know what the f$*% you are, but you don’t scare me!” Thee drunk tightened his grip on Jester.

The strange man nodded. “I’ll just feed my bugs then.” He tapped his staff twice on the ground, and suddenly, a swarm of beetles burst from the staff.

The beetles flew past Jester ignoring her completely. They landed on every inch of the drunk. He let out an ear piercing scream that was cut short, and then he was gone. All there was left of the drunk was his knife on the ground.

“You, you saved me,” Jester said to the strange man. “Thank you. Oh, but Black Shuck’s still in trouble! Have you seen a big, black dog? He’s badly hurt.”

“Oh, that was me,” the man said, raising his hand.

Jester stared at him. “You’re Black Shuck?”

“I prefer Caduceus Clay,” he said. Caduceus leaned against his staff favoring his right side.

“I’m Jester!” She smiled, but it quickly faded. “You’re still hurt! Let me help you!”

Caduceus took a step back. “I heal fast, it’s nothing for you to worry about. But aren’t you scared?”

Jester shook her head. “No, should I be?”

“Hmm, I actually don’t know,” Cad said tilting his head to the side. “I’m not scared of me, but some people are.”

“Well, I’m not scared of you either. You saved me.”

Caduceus scratched his chin. “That’s true, but that’s my job.”

“Your job?” Jester asked.

He nodded. “To guide and protect good travelers and punish ruffians.”

Jester gave this some thought. She had heard the legends of ghastly black dogs bringing death and kindly church grim protecting graveyards, but she never thought that such things could be real. “So that’s what you’ve been doing for me?”

“Yeah.” His voice was low and rumbly and Jester couldn’t help but wonder how nice a hug from him would be.

“Could you still walk me home tonight?” Jester asked.

Caduceus nodded slowly again. “It will be a few minutes before I can be a dog again.”

“Um,” Jester bit her lip and looked down at the ground, “I was kind of hoping that you could stay the way you are and maybe hold my hand?”

A long silence stretched between them and Jester regretted asking. Caduceus never let her touch him before and he probably preferred being a dog. But he finally answered. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” He offered her his hand, and her hand was dwarfed by his but it felt warm and safe. A tingle went up her arm, but she didn’t mind it.

A blush covered Jester’s face and she had to duck her head down. She felt safe next to him even though she knew he wasn’t even slightly human. “If I go out again after dark, will you walk with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Even if I go out each night? Cause I might go out each night after this.”

Caduceus nodded. “Hmm, I’d like that.”

Jester squeezed what she could of his hand. “Yeah, I would too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I really like Black Dog myths and I've heard people talk about Cad being like a church grim, so I ran with it.
> 
> Oh and if there's any thing I should tag that I missed, please let me know.
> 
> The title comes from 'Black Dog' by Led Zeppelin.


End file.
